Zuma: MKMVA Warns That South Africa Will Be "Torn Apart" if Former President Is Arrested
- The MKMVA has threatened to prevent former president Jacob Zuma from being arrested and called the 15-month jail sentence a travesty of justice
- MKMVA national spokesperson, Carl Niehaus, warned that it would be unwise to arrest Zuma and that South Africa would be "torn apart"
- The MKMVA has echoed Zuma's belief that his rights had not been respected and Niehaus compared the jail sentence to apartheid-era laws
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The MKMVA held a press conference outside former president Jacob Zuma's home in Nkandla. They threatened that if Zuma was arrested it would plunge South Africa into violence.
MKMVA national spokesperson, Carl Niehaus had already warned the ANC that it was unwise to arrest Zuma and that there would be dire consequences.
Source: Getty Images
"Our country would be torn apart. There will be instability and unrest," he said.
He doubled down on his threat and said that the MKMVA would protect the former president and would not allow him to be arrested according to News24.
Zuma believes his rights were not respected
eNCA covered the press conference where Niehaus said that Zuma believed his constitutional rights were undermined by the Constitutional Court ruling.
Niehaus called the 15-month jail sentence was a "travesty of justice" and that it resembled apartheid-era laws that arrested people without a proper trial.
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Last-minute court bid and Westville prison awaits the former president
Earlier, Briefly News reported that former president Jacob Zuma will reportedly be applying to the Constitutional Court to retract its prison sentence on charges of contempt. Zuma, at the same time, will appeal to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to halt his incarceration while awaiting the outcome of the appeal.
30 June, 2021 saw acting Chief Justice Sisi Khampepe formally signing a warrant of commitment for the former head of state. The letter states that Zuma will be held at the Westville Correctional Centre in KwaZulu-Natal.
Carl Niehaus, the spokesperson of the MKMVA and one of Zuma's strongest supporters, will be hosting a press conference outside Nkandla's main gate on Friday, 2 July, although his purpose is unclear.
SAPS has dismissed threats from Jacob Zuma's supporters who want to prevent his arrest
In other news, as time draws closer to the scheduled incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma, either voluntarily or by force, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has disregarded threats by supporters of the former head of state to protect him from being incarcerated.
Responding to multiple threats from supporters to risk their lives in order to prevent the arrest of Zuma, Brigadier Vish Naidoo, the national police spokesperson, issued a statement saying that the arrest will be carried out under the authority that the law provides them.
The situation came as a result of a long, substantial legal battle between Zuma, the Zondo Commission and the Constitutional Court. The escalation accelerated drastically following the apex court's decision to sentence Zuma to 15 months in prison for disobeying its order to testify in front of the Zondo Commission.
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Source: Briefly News
